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hi there, im currently in England under post study work visa (PSW),im currently pregnant and im almost due to give birth to my baby, whose father is Irish by birth (I'm not legally married to) but has been leaving here in England for more than 20 years now. I was told by the father of my child that he was offered to change his nationality from Irish to British a few years back but he refused. Thus, he is still an Irish national.

My question is, will my child be considered Irish (because of his Irish father) or British (because he will be born in England).

hope someone out there will enlighten me with this. Thank u!

king regards,

pritzy_18

How about - Both.

The child will be British from birth as born to an Irish father in the UK. The child will be entitled to register as Irish. An application must be made to FBR following the birth for the child to become Irish. (If born in NI the child would be British and Irish from birth).

Thank you for your respond Jambo. Very much appreciated.

It is important to ensure that the father is listed as the father on the birth cert.

You should apply for an Irish passport for the child immediately after birth. Once you have this, you have proof of Irish citizenship for the child. You should get the passport immediately, because Irish citizenship laws can be changed by the Irish parliament (Dail) and changes will not affect your child if she or he has already obtained an Irish passport.

Irish law treats children born within and outside marriage equallly. For example, if the father of the child dies without a will, any estate available under Irish law is shared by the spouse and ALL children, including those born outside marriage.

Thanks for the input Brigid

BTW: what do you really mean if you say "illegitimate"? I thought the legitimacy would still be intact even if you are not married.

Illegitimate:
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Not authorized by the law; not in accordance with accepted standards or rules: "an illegitimate exercise of power by the military".
(of a child) Born of parents not lawfully married to each other.
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Were you, somehow, not allowed to have a child from your partner by law? If yes then it's a different case.

hsmp28122006 wrote:BTW: what do you really mean if you say "illegitimate"? I thought the legitimacy would still be intact even if you are not married.

I think you confuse illegitimate with illegal. In any case, there are numerous definitions and uses for legitimate: not only legally, but also politically, philosophically, morally, ... Some of them are overlapping, others not. The OP is referring to this form of legitimacy: a child born outside marriage. The term is not so very common anymore (probably because too many children these days fall into that category: 2011 stunning 47% in the UK), but it the term is correct and has its place.

Got you - thanks!

hsmp28122006 wrote:Got you - thanks!

The term is technically correct, I agree with Gyfrinachgar, but I would have personally used "natural" or "born out of wedlock".

Jambo wrote:How about - Both.

The child will be British from birth as born to an Irish father in the UK. The child will be entitled to register as Irish. An application must be made to FBR following the birth for the child to become Irish. (If born in NI the child would be British and Irish from birth).

If father is Irish born, then child is automatically an Irish citizen by descent (assuming born in mainland United Kingdom).

Since Irish citizens are "settled" in the United Kingdom, child born in the U.K. with a settled father will automatically be a British citizen.

Both Irish and British passports should be obtained for the child as soon as possible after birth.